A Basement Fairytale
by hatedinnocence03
Summary: Oliver may be the patron saint of lost causes, but Thea has a plan. Olicity is a thing, and Roy may just be the most fearless member of Team Arrow, for having agreed to help Thea's mission. Read on, and find out what happens. Disclaimer: Arrow and its characters belong to DC Comics and CW, I'm just a huge fan (who majorly sucks at summaries and naming things)!
1. The Prologue

**Disclaimer: Arrow and its characters belong to DC Comics and CW, I'm just a huge fan!  
>So this was just supposed to be a one shot-around 1000-ish words in total, but my brain decided to come up with a back and side story, and right now i'm well into 5000 words, and not even close to the ending, so bear with me here and ship #Olicity<br>**

**Also, if you like it or have any suggestions/critique, please leave a review, and now without further ado...**

**_The Prelude_**

Rooftops were kind of becoming her thing, Thea realized.

The first night she'd returned back to Starling, she'd observed her city from a rooftop, then later, she'd confronted the Arrow (and found his identity, while aiming a gun at his head) on another rooftop, and nowadays, she joined her brother's patrol, providing support from-you guessed it-rooftops! But rooftops had also become her thing because that's where she met Roy, and had mostly one-sided conversations with him.

The 'lair', as Felicity called it, was usually too crowded to have a conversation, and she refused to go back to the manor, because the hollowness of the house and its secrets still hurt. So did the absence of her family…

Which is why, whenever Roy wanted to talk to her, or be her personal punching bag in her moments of fury, they'd meet up on rooftops. And he'd try to convince her that they should get back together, and normally, she'd confront him back with his deceptions, but tonight...now, she decided to listen. A lot of time had passed since her return to her city, and they had been through a lot, so she decided to listen…

"Thea, just give me a chance.", Roy was saying, the soulful eyes she still was drawn to, fixed pleadingly on to hers. "I'll do anything for you. Anything. I love you, Thea. Just please-"

"Anything?", she asked speculatively, tilting her head.

"Yes", he replied enthusiastically, nodding along, happy at having gotten through to her. "For you, yes."  
>Thea studied him in silence, with narrowed eyes for a couple of minutes before coming to her decision. She wanted Roy back, he had been a huge support to her through her mother's trial and the aftermath of the Undertaking; he had been her rock, and despite his lies, she knew he loved her. And she knew she felt for him too, no matter how much she pretended to deny it.<p>

And also, here he was presenting her with an open-ended opportunity to do something that the entire team Arrow (and probably even the 'knowing' members of it's extensive network), so she decided to go for it.

"You'll get just one shot, this one chance with me. No more pulling any bullshit or lying to me about anything, do you hear me?", she said sternly. "If you can't do that, you lose me for life, I'm not that weak, naïve girl you used to know anymore. Do you understand?"

"Yes.", Roy heaved a sigh of relief before stepping towards her. "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Thea. I love-"

"Not so fast.", Thea replied, backing away towards the edge of the roof. "If you wanna be with me, this is what you'll have to do." She took a deep breath and told him exactly what she wanted him to do.

"You do realize your brother will murder me, right?", Roy choked out after she was done explaining. "There's no way he'll just stand by and-"

"Exactly. He won't stand by.", Thea smirked. "I know Ollie. He'll react. And don't worry, he won't kill you, otherwise Felicity will hate him, and he can't stand that, can he?", she finished with a snort, thinking of how her big brother Oliver, the man who went around arrowing the scums of the earth every night, was deadly afraid of this one tiny blonde and her 'loud voice' whenever he displeased to think of it, anyone who'd been on the receiving end of Felicity's loud voice (and/or her digital annihilation threats) felt the same way.

"No.", Roy replied slowly breaking into Thea's reverie. He thought it over...carefully. After all, he was quite attached to his life, and wouldn't want it o end prematurely. And really, Oliver was too afraid of Felicity, and Thea's plan was diabolical enough that it might just work. "You know, this is crazy enough to work. So, if I do this..", he trailed off suggestively, raising an eyebrow.

"You get your one shot with me.", Thea replied, nodding her head.  
>Roy looked at her for just a couple of seconds, studied the girl he considered the love of his life, and he realized….that there was no choice to make.<p>

"I'm in.", he replied, setting his jaw resolutely.

"Good", Thea smiled, genuinely this time, at him. "Let's go patrol and plan", she replied, displaying some of the girly enthusiasm that the old-Thea was so filled with, before putting on her mask. Roy only smiled as he pulled on his hood, and jumped over the rooftops after her, retrieving his bow.

**So this was the prelude, and Chapter 1 will (probably) be up as soon as I'm done editing it.  
>Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review! Cheers!<strong>


	2. Phase 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or it's characters, DC Comics and CW does, but this plotline is all mine!  
>Also, thank you sakura-blossim62 for the first review, and I'd also like to thank the rest of you for the reviews, follows and favorites! And here's the official first chapter of the story, as promised, or as I like to call it...<strong>

**_Phase 1_**

"Felicity, do you think I could talk to you?", Roy asked nervously the next night, looking around the lair shiftily. He was standing beside Felicity's workspace, shuffling on his feet as he surveyed the other occupants of the room. Oliver was doing his thing on the salmon ladder, directly across from Felicity's desk (some things never change), Digg was going through sparring with Sara, and Thea was on the other corner of the lair, studiously not looking at them and practicing her boxing.

"Just a minute", Felicity said absentmindedly, holding up a finger, eyes focused on her screen, where she was finishing 'borrowing' some intel on one of their next targets from the Interpol. "And…done", she replied triumphantly, swinging her chair around to face him. "What can I do for you, Roy?"

"I…uh, wanted to speak to you about something. Privately", he replied, nodding towards the other occupants of the room.

"Me?", Felicity choked out, surprised. Usually Roy was the suffer-in-silence type, like most other members of team Arrow, so she was understandably surprised that he wanted to talk to her. And not Oliver. Or John. Or Sara. Or even…

_Thea._ Oh.

"Is this about _her_?". Felicity whispered, eyes quickly darting to Thea before focusing on him again.

"You can say that", Roy grimaced, shifting from foot to foot. "I know we aren't very close, but you're the smartest person I know. And I just need some advice", he trailed off lamely, rubbing a hand over his neck. "And the guys aren't really quite good at that"

"Oh", Felicity replied, getting his discomfort discussing his feelings. "Do you wanna go to Big Belly Burgers?"

"Someone or the other always pops over sometime, and I just…", he stopped to take a deep breath, deliberating. "You know what, never mind, I'm sorry to disturb you", he finished awkwardly, seemingly having changed his mind, before beginning to walk away.

"Roy, wait!", Felicity shouted out, wincing when she realized that everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at her suddenly, including a cringing, suddenly-red-faced Roy. "I…err…I need food. So do you, obviously. So let's just go, okay?", she said lamely, gesturing with her hands. She didn't wait for him to affirm before speaking again.  
>"Roy and I, we're going out", she addressed Oliver this time, wincing again when she realized how her words might be misconstrued. "Going out to eat, not going out as in on a date. That doesn't mean I wouldn't go out with you, I mean look at you.", she turned to Roy, gesturing to his body. "And come to think of it, you're not really that much younger than me that I'd be dubbed a cradle-robber if we did go out, but cougar really isn't my favorite animal. I mean I don't even like cats. Or fishes. Unless, I'm eating them, they're very healthy. Why doesn't anyone ever stop me? God!", she paused to smack herself in her forehead and do a mini-countdown under her breath. "What I mean was that I'm done here for the night, and so is Roy, so we're just gonna leave. Bye!", she finished her tirade by packing her cellphone and tab into her bag.<p>

"Okay. Give me a moment, I'll join you", Oliver replied, hopping down from the top rung of the salmon ladder, and wiping his hands on his trousers.

"That's not necessary", Felicity answered quickly, waving her hands dismissively. "We'll just get some food and get going"

"So, can you guys place our orders at Big Belly Burgers while you're there?", Digg asked, looking at Felicity. "If you want, I can pay you now-"

"That won't be necessary", Roy replied, the same time Felicity blurted out, "We're not going there".

"Oh, okay. Where are you going?", Sara asked, enjoying how mortified both Roy and Felicity were getting with the turn of the conversation. The duo in question glanced blankly at each other.  
>Both Roy and Felicity remained mute for a long minute, trying to come up with an answer before Felicity spoke again.<p>

"To my house", Felicity decided on the moment. "We're going to watch cable TV and have some Chinese. Or would you prefer pizza? Pepperoni with extra cheese and olives, right?", she recited Roy's favorite recipe, turning to face the now-mortified vigilante, who was standing near the staircase.

"Uh, yeah", Roy replied, looking at no one in particular. "Whatever"

"How will you get there?", Oliver questioned, crossing his arms across his chest, knowing that Felicity had hitched a ride with Digg this morning because her car was at the mechanic's.

"We'll manage", she replied quickly, hastening towards the exit as fast as she could. "Don't you start on the whole 'the Glades isn't a safe place to walk at night' thing. I'll be safe with Roy. And I'll just leave, before this", she gestured around the room, climbing up the stairs. "gets anymore awkward. Coming, Roy?"

"Yeah, what she said", he replied distractedly, hurrying up after the blonde, waving an awkward goodbye at them. "Bye!"

After the door closed behind the duo, a full minute of silence passed before the other occupants of the room looked at one another. "That was…weird", Sara commented, looking towards Oliver, who suddenly seemed to find his towel very interesting.

"Yeah, weird", John replied, eyes shifting between Oliver and Thea, the latter just looking at the three of them impassively. She shrugged nonchalantly, before tightening her gloves and shifting her focus to the punching bag again.

"I wonder what that was about?", Sara mused, vocalizing the question of the hour.  
>Oliver couldn't help but wonder the same.<p>

Unbeknownst to them, Thea's phone vibrated just then in her pocket with an incoming text. Thea finished her circuit once before looking at it. It was-as expected-from Roy, who just wanted to confirm that Felicity had bought the story that they had decided on; that she;d believed it hook, line and sinker, and the mission was a go. Thea smirked briefly, before texting him explicit instructions-concerning their 'mission'-about what to say and-especially-what not to say to Felicity, because let's face it spinning cover-up stories wasn't his forte, but he could follow instructions to a dot, when necessary.

This was gonna be so much fun, Thea thought gleefully, widening her stance and getting ready to box again. Game on!

** Thank you for reading Phase 1. The next chapter will be updated in a day, or a day and a half at most, so stay tuned for that, and don't forget to review! Cheers!**


	3. Phase 1: The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or it's characters, DC Comics and CW does, but this plotline is all mine!  
>Now that all of you have gotten acquainted with Phase 1, it's time you get to find..<strong>

**Phase 1-The Aftermath**

"So what did you and Roy do yesterday?", Digg asked the next time they went to Big Belly Burger to pick up the food for the team, and it was just him, Oliver and Felicity.  
>Oliver was literally burning with curiosity, but he didn't say one word to Felicity, that damn fool. But now that Diggle was broaching the subject, Oliver's sole attention was focused on Felicity, even though he was pretending to survey the place while sipping his coffee.<br>It was a good thing Diggle had practice restraining himself physically, or he would have slapped Oliver's head about how transparently vague he was being (or spilled the beans to Felicity long ago, when he began suspecting Oliver's feelings towards her, and she had shared her insecurities about her 'fangirl crush' on their vigilante partner, which-if supported by her dreamy sighs and unabashed staring over his salmon ladder action-had yet to subside, even after so long)

"We just talked, and watched a few movies", she replied nonchalantly, bringing Digg out of his reverie. He glanced at her to find her shrugging, her teeth worrying the straw of her milkshake. "How's Lyla? And the baby?", she asked, before he could open his mouth.

"Good", Digg grinned, thinking of his girlfriend and their adorable baby. "She's tired, because the baby wakes up at odds hours and throws tantrums, but other than that she's fine. Speaking of tired, you look tired", Digg commented, gesturing to the bags under Felicity's eyes, refusing to get sidetracked.

"Yeah, well you should blame Roy for that. He kept me up almost all night", she replied casually, accentuating her words with a yawn.

Oliver choked on his coffee and even Digg had to raise an eyebrow at that. "Not like that!", Felicity chastened, reaching over to thump Oliver's back. "We were just talking, and watching crappy cable; and you can't even imagine the weird movies they show on late night TV. One word? Hilarious!", she laughed, remembering one of the movies she had watched the night before, about how a woman turned into a snake and fought with some supposedly sage mountain gods to save the life of her husband, who had a stroke after watching her transfigure. "So yeah, we were just hanging out and talking, not…you know, getting it on", she gestured vaguely, pink spots forming on her cheek, which only intensified with her next words.

"Although, come to think of it...", she trailed off speculatively, before shaking her head. "Oh no, so not going there. This will not end well", she completed, not wanting to think of her friend in any sexual was the right decision to make, judging by Oliver's death grip on his coffee-cup and Diggle's amused smirk.  
>Diggle honestly didn't know how he could have tolerated his infuriating 'boss' and their dreary first Arrow cave for so long without Felicity's often X-rated rambles. Which, unsurprisingly, were mostly aimed at Oliver, a fact Digg believed Oliver enjoyed immensely, if that smug smirk he got every time she rambled about him, was any indication. And his jealousy, whenever Felicity's fantasizing veered off him...like now.<p>

Felicity must have noticed the tenseness of Oliver's stance, because her eyes started darting around, searching for any exits. In the end, she ended up saying, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I'll go see if our order's arrived", almost leaping up and sprinting towards the counter, in her hurry.

Digg grinned indulgently at her lame excuse and his eyes slid over to his silent, brooding partner, who was following her movement with his eyes, and Digg decided to take advantage of the situation and have a little fun at Oliver's expense, for all the heartache his inaction and her obliviousness had been causing him.

"Is it just me or did she look flustered all of a sudden?", Digg asked, nodding towards Felicity, who was at the service counter, talking animatedly to one of the attendants now.

Oliver didn't dignify Digg with a response. He just grunted, his eyes fixed on his coffee cup again.

Digg would have continued tormenting Felicity a bit more, just to make her flustered and mess with Oliver, but when she returned with the packages of food to their table, her tablet dinged, signaling that one of her searches into a potential target had just turned up a promising result, and she was literally saved by the bell. Then it wasn't the time to joke as everyone got into the zone, discussing in hushed tones what was to be done next, and Felicity alerted the rest of the gang to show up in the Lair in 45 minutes tops. (Parenthetically, it should be noted that Digg did see Oliver grimace slightly when the first vigilante Felicity texted happened to be Roy, and Roy's reply-which came in less than a couple of minutes-made Felicity snort [and text back], even despite the grave situation).

And then they were suiting up for a recon and regular patrol, and there was a lot of planning to do about the actual mission, so the opportunity for bringing up the Felicity and Roy thing didn't come up, and by the end of the day, he was so exhausted, he just wanted to go back home and put his little baby to sleep before crawling into bed with Lyla.

But even as exhausted as he was, he didn't miss it when Oliver offered to drive Felicity home that night and after a thoroughly inappropriate ramble of how 'she didn't want to ride him-god dam it why was her mouth continuously doing this to her! she meant that she didn't want to ride on that death-trap of a motorcycle with him', she excused herself, claiming that she was still exhausted from her night in (with Roy) and would probably fall asleep on the bike, fall and break a few bones if she did. Neither did he miss how Oliver did that thing where he pretended to smile and understand, but which meant he wanted to punch something real bad. And he absolutely didn't miss how Thea, standing near the med-bay, was watching their interaction with hawk eyes.

Something was going on, his instincts knew, and Digg was going to find out what. But not tonight, tonight he really just wanted to crash into bed, and not wake up for a solid 8 hours.

**And that's all, folks. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review. Cheers!**


	4. Phase 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or it's characters, DC Comics and CW does, but this plotline is all mine!****  
><strong>**Also, I thought I'd squeeze in one more chapter before the season premiere, so here goes…**

**_Phase 2_**

Oliver was not oblivious. He was a sharp observer, especially when it came to his team, so he didn't miss the developments that had been lining up ever since 2 weeks ago, when Roy and Felicity had gone over to her house to 'hang out', as they both had very repeatedly and succinctly explained.

Felicity, who had actually forbidden him or Digg to prowl about her house even if psychopathic meta-human terrorists were coming after her, had taken Roy to her place. Voluntarily.  
>Something seemed…off.<p>

Nowadays when Roy showed up at the lair/basement, Oliver had seen the dour faced younger man cracking a small smile for Felicity, who always replied back with a beaming smile of her own. The same guy Felicity had once dubbed McPoutypants literally flashed a Colgate smile at her on a semi-regular basis. Then again, one could not simply be around Felicity (and her rambles) and remain broody, even then Oliver felt that Roy's whole-smiling-at-Felicity-thing was...odd.

Then, there was the secretiveness. Something definitely was going on, but both Felicity and Roy refused to speak out about it.  
>They often lingered together, talking and joking in whispers in the basement, or around her desk. Which wasn't really weird, when you thought about it…while most of the Team Arrow members were of a more somber temperament, Felicity was all light, and colors and innocence. And she was also very trustworthy. Hell! Oliver shared his gut-wrenching secrets with her. Digg definitely did. Sara had once confessed that she too shared some of her stories with Felicity-Sara, who after the island and her stint with the League found it difficult to trust people-trusted Oliver's Girl-Wednesday implicitly, so why shouldn't Roy? So, if there was only some sort of secret sharing, Oliver could understand that, but the secretive nods and the hushed whispering pointed to something…more.<p>

She even let him sit at her chair when she needed to eat or had to take a pee-break (her words, not Oliver's) and monitor the police patrol scan, Oliver noticed. And that was way more than she trusted Oliver with. Though that was understandable, given that Oliver's technological skills were hardly handy given her state-of-the-art equipments and software, and Roy due to his previous thieving ways, proved to be a fast student, who absorbed and picked up on details surprisingly easily.

And then, there was the whole coffee thing. Roy would enter the basement-you know what, screw it! Oliver would call it the lair, it wasn't like Felicity could read his mind (otherwise he'd be in big, big trouble, especially considering his 'non-platonic' thoughts about her)-so yeah, Roy would show up to the lair every evening, with a carry-on mug of coffee, especially for Felicity, who had taken to hugging or elbow-bumping the red-hooded vigilante every time he did.

And more often than not, those two left the lair together most nights, Roy trotting behind Felicity, holding her coat as she searched her bag for her car keys and eventually remembering she'd kept it in her coat for ease.

Then, there was the time Laurel saw them in the supermarket, looking very _homely_-in her words. Apparently, Felicity had been shopping groceries, and Roy had been acting as her cart-puller and tablet-holder, reading off her checklist while she dumped items onto her cart. When Laurel had asked what the duo was doing there, they had both squealed "nothing' and fled the scene in a hurry, which was exactly why Laurel had revealed this…behavioral anomaly to Ollie. And 'Ollie' had done the whole its-no-big-deal-smile thing, but that night the Arrow's criminal picking ended up a little worse for wear than usual, for no apparent reason whatsoever.

So, yeah, Oliver noticed all these developments, all the while wondering what was going on.

They might be dating, he had speculated once, but had immediately vetoed the idea. Roy was….in love with Thea, wasn't he? They had a fallout following the Slade fiasco, and then she'd returned and…things had happened, 'interactions' between his baby sister and other men, that Oliver tried very hard not to think about. But Roy still sometimes made moony eyes towards Thea, so he must be…pining for her, right?  
>And Felicity was…no, she couldn't be dating him. Just the thought alone made Oliver see red, and think very life-threatening thoughts towards Roy. So what if he knocked Roy around a bit during their next sparring match, kid needed to learn how to focus. Right?<p>

**Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a comment if you liked it.  
>Also, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites so far.<br>Happy Arrow day, people! Cheers!**


	5. Phase 2: The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or the characters, DC Comics/WB and CW does.  
>And for all of you who've already seen the season premiere, I refuse to believe the last three minutes happened…or that it is permanent.<br>Moving on to happier things, hope you enjoy…**

**_Phase 2: Aftermath_**

"Your face", Felicity gasped as soon as she came into the lair, dropping her bag and coat on her desk before rushing to Roy, completely bypassing Oliver.

"M'kay", Roy groaned, holding the towel-wrapped ice to his swollen face.

"What happened?", she asked, touching his bruised jaw with the tips of her fingernails. "I thought you guys weren't gonna go out and patrol tonight, right?", she asked, sparing Oliver one glance before knocking Roy's hand off, and placing the ice more securely on his face herself.

"No patrolling", Roy replied, wincing when his jaw hurt. "We were sparring"

"Sparring?", Felicity bit out scathingly, sparing another look at Oliver, taking into note that he had absolutely no new bruises on his body, before looking at Roy again, who had tape over his ribs and an obviously swollen face.  
>"Hey, Oliver?", she asked then, deadly calm. "Do you think I can talk to you, privately?", she gestured to the furthest corner of the mats, near the changing room.<p>

"Sure", Oliver replied, feeling tendrils of fear invading his body at the anger fuming out of her eyes. If she were a basilisk, he'd be dead ten times over by now, only from the withering glare she was aiming at him.

"Sara, could you come here and hold the ice-pack to Roy's face?", Felicity continued in her calm voice, facing the other blonde, who was standing near the staircase she had just descended with Felicity, and was watching all that was happening raptly.

"I got this", Sara replied, shrugging off her jacket and purse and placing them on the table which Oliver was leaning against. "We had some good times. You will be missed", she whispered to Oliver as she passed him by.

Both Roy and Sara watched as Felicity stormed past Oliver and he followed her like a puppy with his tails between his legs to where she had pointed before, and they watched, fascinated, as she began yelling at the almost-fearless leader of Team Arrow, speaking far too fast for them to understand what was going on from their vantage point.  
>And then, she began poking Oliver in his chest angrily, and using rapid hand gestures. It was only when Oliver crossed his arms across his chest and started spluttering angrily that Sara looked away from the debacle, and focused on Roy, who despite his injury, seemed to be smirking a bit.<p>

"I don't know what gig you have going on here, but I want in", Sara whispered, leaning in towards Roy, whose face first contorted with surprise, before he schooled it to an expression of dumb innocence.

"I don't know what you're talking about", Roy replied, sounding exactly the right amount of confused, but Sara was not to be fooled. She was a younger sibling, and a member of the League, used to reading off people's expressions and using them to her advantage-and Roy, like almost everyone else on Team Arrow, was a lousy liar.

"Either you cut me in on the action, or I'll tell Ollie right now exactly how _platonic_ your and Felicity's little sleepovers are", she pushed on, watching as he reeled back, clearly surprised. "Yeah, I know. I was out patrolling by a few nights ago, and I saw you two, sitting on her couch, opposite ends of her couch I should mention, and watching Austin Powers"

"It's a great movie", Roy replied lamely, stalling, and wondering how he could get out of this mess, but Sara just raised an eyebrow at him and stared him down.  
>"Fine", he replied finally. "But you're gonna have to talk to Thea, it's her plan after all"<p>

Before Sara could say anything, Felicity's voice suddenly rang out loud. "God, Oliver! You're just so insufferable sometimes! Get your head out of your ass, you're not the only one with shitty problems in your life. I get that you're obviously going through something, but that doesn't mean you can go around treating Roy as your personal punching bag", she stopped for a breath and closed her eyes-doing a silent countdown-trying to calm herself down. "Now I'm going to go, and find something on our next target, while you…you just calm yourself down", she finished, stalking away from him towards her computers.

Oliver watched her walk away, his jaw set angrily, before focusing at his two spectators, who were gaping at him. Immediately, he turned around and started pummeling one of his training dummies, shattering it into splinters after only four hits.

"Well, shit", Sara whispered, as she saw Oliver going for the next dummy. Roy agreed with a nod, gulping.

Oliver remained in his foul mood, training for the better part of two hours, ignoring any and everyone in the lair, during which time Diggle came in, and sensing the mood in the lair with his all-knowing juju powers (Felicity's words, mind you), made a hasty exit, claiming that Lyla wanted him home.  
>Thea came and after taking one look at Oliver, wanted to know what had crawled up his ass and died. Both Sara and Roy shrugged innocently and Felicity muttered under her breath; and then, Sara went to join the younger Queen for a sparring session (and a little 'chitchat'), while Roy tried to be inconspicuous while sharpening his arrows.<p>

Still, not one of them was surprised when after showering and getting ready to head out, Oliver ambled over to Felicity's desk with a cup of coffee he had made himself, and she accepted it easily, with the smile she just reserved for him, when he said 'one'. She'd taken just one look at his bleeding knuckles before covering then with her thin, warm fingers and leading him over to the med bay. He sat quietly, watching her every movement with hawk eyes and a private smile as she moved around, fussing over him. And after she was done bandaging his hands, he squeezed her hands and shared another private smile with her.

They left together that night, Oliver offering to drive her home, before heading off to his apartment, and the three musketeers watched how oblivious they were being to the chemistry between them, that everyone but themselves seemed to be aware of. Really, you would think between the dopey smiles and lingering touches, Oliver and Felicity would have figured out what was happening between them, especially someone as intelligent as Felicity, but it seemed U2 pegged it right when they sang 'Love is Blindness'.

"So, what happens now?", Sara asked, once the lair was empty of the lovey-dovey not-couple couple.

"Now we move on", Thea beamed excitedly, looking between Roy and Sara. "To the next phase in our mission. Welcome to Team Olicity, Sara!"

**Thank you for reading, lovelies. Don't forget to leave a review! Cheers!**


	6. Phase 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or it's characters, DC Comics/WB and CW does, but this plotline is all mine!****And without further ado, here's the latest phase… **

**_Phase 3_**

"Hey, Ollie", Sara greeted Oliver, ambling down into the lair that Saturday night.

"Hey", Oliver acknowledged her with a half-smile, sparing her a cursory glance before going back to sharpening his arrowheads.

"Where's everybody?", she asked, stripping out of her jacket and shoes, noticing the emptiness of the lair. Oliver was the only person in, and the only thing that betrayed the presence of anyone else having come in was the quiet whirring noise of Felicity's computer, and Thea's discarded hoodie lying on a nearby table, and the slightly-ajar changing room's door, which probably meant that someone else or somebodies had come in that evening.

"Digg and Roy are out patrolling, and Felicity and Thea are up in the club", Oliver provided, confirming her guesswork, nodding his head towards the ceiling.

"Felicity and Thea?", Sara asked, quirking an eyebrow. "When did that happen?"

"I don't know", Oliver shrugged. "But after finding out about the whole 'I am Arrow and all of you being on my team' thing, Thea was pissed off at all of us. Rightfully so. Felicity was the first person she forgave because apparently she didn't lie directly to Thea, or something", he finished, shaking his head at his sister's logic.

"And she has a good fashion sense. Thea must have liked that too", Sara supplied, interrupting him while taking off her shirt.

'Mmhmm' was Oliver's non-committal reply.

"Also, Felicity is easy to talk to, and hard to stay mad at", Sara quipped, retrieving her workout clothes.

At this, even Oliver had to smile. "Anyway", he continued, getting back on track. "They've been sort-of-friends for some time since then."

"Speaking of friends, I stopped by Felicity's house last night. Well, midnight more accurately", Sara said, stripping out of jeans and into yoga pants now.

"Mmhmm", Oliver replied noncommittally, gesturing for her to proceed, but Sara remained silent, fiddling with her bo staff now.

"Sara?", Oliver asked finally, looking up from his work.

"It might be nothing", Sara said slowly, biting her lip, suddenly finding the floor very fascinating.

"Has anything happened to her? Is she alright?", Oliver asked immediately, standing up straighter.

"No, no. Nothing like that", she replied quickly, taking a deep breath. "It's just I went there, to hang out with her for a while…"

"And?", Oliver prompted, getting restless now.

"Roy was there", Sara blurted out, not meeting his eyes. "He was dressed up for a change, and Felicity and he were..."

"Felicity and he were what?", Oliver bit out from between his teeth, holding the arrow in his hand in a death grip. "They were doing what, Sara?"

"They were drinking wine and talking", Sara replied, shaking her head. "I might have not thought anything of it, but like I said, Roy was dressed up, and the setting was…umm, there were candles and music, and they just looked very…..familiar, so…", she finished, struggling a bit to find the right word.

A rush of blood surged in Oliver's body, obliviating every other sensation. Words danced across his mind, refusing to string together, and make sense. _Midnight. Familiar. Romantic. Together. Felicity. Roy. Felicty __**and**__ Roy._

No! No, this couldn't be, his mind rebelled against the very notion. Not his Felicity, not with Roy. He'd kill that boy, he'd absolutely kill Roy! How dare he-

"Ollie? Ollie!", a voice made it through his brain after sometime. Blinking, he focused on the face of his sister, who was shaking him concernedly, and Sara, who was staring at him, looking alarmed.

"Speedy? Wha-what? What's wrong?", he asked, frowning at the miniature brunette.

"I've been calling your name for a solid 5 minutes. What's going on?", she asked, glancing between him and Sara.

"Just lost in thoughts", he replied quickly, before Sara could open her mouth. "What's up?"

"I was just leaving", Thea supplied, brandishing her designer bag at him. "Are you sure you're okay?", she asked him concernedly, putting a hand on his forearm.

"Positive", he replied, smiling his fake-smile at her. "Where's Felicity?"

"She had to make a call.", she gestured towards the lair door. "Why?"

"No reason", he replied quickly, turning away from her inquisitive eyes. "What were you two gossiping about?", he asked, trying to sound flippant.

"Nothing much", she replied with a shrug, leaning against one of the tables and rummaging her bag for car keys. "She just wanted my blessing"

"Blessing?", he half-turned towards her, surprised at her wording.

"Yeah, about Roy", Thea returned casually, finally retrieving her keys.

A moment of silence ensued in the lair before the arrow Oliver was handling snapped into two pieces. Dropping it, he stalked toward the training section without a word-without meeting either woman's eyes, all the while raging with anger. Behind his back, Sara and Thea shared a conspiring smirk.

"Tell Roy to sleep with his doors and windows locked tonight", Sara murmured as Thea walked past her towards the exit.

"Will do", Thea replied with mirth, already texting the red-hooded vigilante to let him know that it'd probably be better if he crashed someplace else that night.

Ollie was so predictable, Thea. Her poor, naive, idiotic big brother.

Though she felt slightly bad about what she was putting her Ollie through, Thea knew the end would more than make up for the angst she would be causing. Besides, it didn't happen often that Oliver lost his cool, so Thea (and Sara and Roy, by association) were going to enjoy watching him flounder while it lasted.

**So, that's all for now, folks! Hope you liked this installment, the next part (the aftermath will be updated soon). Oh, and Happy Halloween everyone! Cheers!**


	7. Phase 3: The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or its characters, DC Comics/WB and CW does, but this plotline is all mine!**

**Also, I'm terribly sorry for my prolonged absence. I have no excuse except to say that life got in the way, as it often does. So, to make up for my disappearing act, and to thank you for your patience, here's an extra long chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers!**

_Phase 3: Aftermath_

**_Felicity_**

Oliver had been seething in anger for a couple of days, snapping at everyone for the smallest of reasons. Oh, and also refusing to talk about it, or communicate in any form, other than glaring at whoever dared to ask him if he was okay. Honestly, Felicity didn't know what to make of it. Not only did he not want to discuss his issues with her, but he seemed to be avoiding her actively nowadays.

At first, she had been hurt, but then his hissy tantrum-prone behavior made her angry, so now she was also-quite righteously-angry at him. And they were back to 'Mister Queen' and 'Miss Smoak' again.

But still, she was concerned about him, about what was going on with him, to make him so standoffish. She had moments where she had been sorely tempted to plant a bug on one of his electronics to find out what was bothering him, but she resisted. Because she trusted him.  
>In spite of his recent behavior, she knew when he wanted to share, he'd come to her. Or Digg. They were partners, right? So she let him be.<p>

Besides, she had more important things occupying her attention. Roy, for one. What with the help he needed planning his 'please-take-me-back-I-love-you-so-much' dinner with Thea. Felicity had been helping him plan the perfect date for weeks now, and it would have taken place at least a week sooner, if Oliver hadn't bruised his face that badly; or if Roy hadn't gotten slightly banged up after a mission earlier this week.

She had been so honored and excited that Roy had come seeking her help, that she went all mother hen on him, getting him to refine his table manners (and personal hygiene too-let's just say there was a reason Roy wore freshly washed clothes nowadays, and his hoodie smelled of flowery detergent.) And in return, she had gotten a little brother. They had bonded over their mutual love for Austin Powers, and now spent most evenings-free evenings-watching terrible movies and funny game shows together.

Sometimes, Sara showed up, especially on weekends, with her oversized purse filled with different vodkas and tequilas, and she'd set up shop in Felicity's kitchen, and raid her fridge, to make different cocktails which the three of them would taste-test, and get drunk on.

And then there was Thea, who sometimes took Felicity shopping because her legs were apparently made for heels, and Thea knew a few designers (because ,of course she did) who wouldn't mind Thea bringing her friend along to buy some shoes-and hey, a few dresses and cute coats wouldn't hurt either. And she managed to visit Digg and Lyla at least once every week, and spent quite some time cooing over their adorable baby, and chatting with the couple, who were so blessedly in love, it sometimes hurt to watch them together for too long.  
>Work was pleasant too, and she got to work with a lot of like minded people, and in a capacity that she enjoyed.<p>

So, really, Felicity was enjoying life, and the only thing that could make it better was if Oliver stopped behaving like a wounded tiger, and started being more like his normal brooding, growly self.

Two weeks, she decided.  
>She'd give him two weeks to come clean, before she charged him, personal boundaries be damned.<p>

**_Oliver_**

In reality, it took Oliver just eight days to crack.

He couldn't be near Felicity and not talk to her. He couldn't bear to come down to the lair or go to his office, and not be greeted by her bright smile. And God, he missed her rambling and her unintentional-X rated-innuendos (especially given that most of them revolved around him) so damn much. He'd sought out a hard life to lead for himself, and some nights he thought that Felicity, with all her light and brightness, was the only thing keeping him from going over the edge completely.

And he felt terrible for behaving so immaturely towards her; then again, it was just another notch in his list of crimes against her. She was one of the only people who believed him-who was privy to both sides of him, and still believed in him. She was the first to see him as a hero, and her steadfast belief in his goodness had kept him away from spiraling into the dark for far too many times to count. And in return, he had ignored her better judgment, behaved abominably towards her time and again, and not to mention, broken her heart far too many times…and still, here she was committed to his mission, standing right beside him, so how dare he misbehave towards her, out of petty jealousy?  
>She was her own person, she made her own decisions, and he was a lovelorn fool, drunk in love with her. She was a constant spot of happiness in his dreary life, and he kept on screwing up time and again, and letting her down.<p>

He'd never taken back the 'I love you' he'd told her all those months ago, and he knew he never would, not willingly at least. And he knew she loved him, and even though he was blonde (and a former fratboy), but he wasn't blonde enough to think she'd wait for an eternity for him. Felicity was…a smart, beautiful, generous woman, and guys (and superheroes) tended to flock around her like bees, so maybe he had missed his chance, and maybe she had 'a thing' going on with Roy, but he knew if she was really serious about the red-hooded vigilante, she would have made a cute, awkward announcement in front of the entire team Arrow-with a lot of hand gestures-just so that everyone was clear on it, and no, she didn't need them to threaten the poor guy. (Parenthetically, it should be mentioned that even in his head, Felicity maintained her affinity for babbling)

So yeah, maybe, she liked Arsenal, but he loved her, and he'd be damned to let his totally-undeserved-self-pity get in the way of her happiness. But that didn't mean he'd let her go without a fight.

It was time, Oliver decided, that Felicity and he had a face to face.

**_"_****_Don't say-do not say nothing.  
>The Truth, please."<em>**

That night, coming down to the lair, Oliver found it empty. He stood inside the door just for a moment, reveling in the silence and peace that was becoming incredibly difficult to come by, especially these days, what with the Team Arrow expansions.

Roy and Thea were now full-time crime-fighters in Starling, along with the original Team Arrow trio (and the reason Felicity had to order an obscene number of arrows to be shipped nowadays, obviously from different suppliers and contractors, for all three arrow-wielding vigilantes). Sara was a honorary member, so was Nyssa, and they both dropped in time to time, to help along. So did Barry Allen and Ray Palmer, or as they were more publicly known, The Flash and The Atom.

Lyla sometimes came in and helped Felicity with the comms, or Speedy with combat, and her aim with a gun was almost unparalleled, especially in short-ranges, so it was always fun for the other Arrow members to try and beat her (and lose) in target practices against her. Laurel too came by sometimes, with food or intel, whichever was needed when, but her daytime job with the DA office prevented her from taking a more active role in the day-to-day vigilante-ing of Team Arrow. Sometimes, she did spar and grapple with the others, or maybe even box to let off steam, but that really was all of the superhero workout Oliver and Sara were comfortable with letting Laurel do.  
>And because of all these additions, the 'Lair' tended to be filled with people and chaos nowadays, so this spell of silence was a welcome reprieve.<p>

This all passed through Oliver's mind as he walked through the floor and into the changing room, ready to get into his sweatpants to begin his workout. Just as he was done with three circuits of his endurance training, Oliver heard the lair's door open and the click-clack of heels. Felicity, he immediately realized, by the pattern of her fast footfalls. Leaning upside down from a bar on the salmon ladder, he watched silently as she came into view, humming some pop tune under her breath.

Pushing her computer screen on with one scarlet-lacquer-coated fingernail, she dropped her bag and got out of her heels at the same time, and then took off her coat and threw it over the back of her 'throne'. Still humming, she walked over to the coffee-machine that Laurel had installed in the room last month, after spending a particularly long uncaffeinated night in the lair, the deed making Felicity hug her and almost sob with joy.

Still watching her, Oliver silently jumped down from the bar, landing on the balls of his feet, and then stealthily slinked up till he was standing right behind Felicity. Any noise he might have made got covered up by the whirring sounds of the coffee machine and Felicity's humming.  
>"We really need to work on your awareness skills", he commented, right in her ear and smiled when she shrieked and jumped.<p>

"Easy", he said cheekily, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's just me"

"Just me?", she yelled, knocking his hand off and turning around to glare at him. "Oliver! You scared me half to death! You're lucky I wasn't holding my coffee-mug, because if I were, and you made me drop it, I would have been really pissed. I would have stabbed you with this spoon", she said, holding up a disposable spoon. "Not that it is even hypothetically possible to stab someone with it, or that I could stab you, because you're all muscled-up so you're skin probably won't give easily, and also, you could move away and disarm me faster than-"

"Felicity", he pronounced her name slowly, squeezing her shoulder again.

"I was rambling…again", she sighed, closing her eyes and exhaling.

"After I scared the crap out of you, so you get this one", he smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with humor.

"So, you're calling me Felicity again, then", she commented, trying to sound casual as she looked away from him and started to prepare her coffee.

"Technically, you called me Oliver first", he replied cheekily, stepping away when she brandished the spoon at him again, along with a complimentary dirty look.

"So are we going to talk about what has been happening, or shove it under the rug?", she asked him, still intensely concentrating on her coffee-mug.

He didn't reply, just study her with pursed lips for a couple of seconds before she turned around and looked at him. "We're talking, then", she confirmed, reading off the thoughtful expression on his face.

He nodded solemnly, before gesturing towards her working station. "If we're gonna have a serious conversation, you need to go put on a shirt, because all this", she said, gesturing towards his sweaty chest and abdomen, "is very distracting"

"On it", he mouthed with a grin at her matter-of-fact voice, and ambled away to put on a shirt, feeling lighter than he had in days.

When he returned, she was seated at her desk so he pulled up another chair and sat down beside her, facing her. "So..", she trailed off, nudging him to continue.

"Remember when we were on Lian Yu, and you said that the idea of us was unthinkable?", he opened, watching her facial expressions carefully.

"Vividly", she winced, remembering that mostly one-sided very awkward conversation.

"It was", he replied quietly, hastening to speak before she could arrive at the wrong conclusion. "Because I'm all dark and miserable, and you're basically everything that's good with this world. I-I could have become a killer, working on my father's list, but you made me see-made me believe-that there's a better way. The idea of us was unthinkable because I could never be deserving of you…", he trailed off, looking away.

"Oliver, I-I don't know what you're saying", she replied in a soft voice, hating to see him in pain, hating the pain he was dredging up by raising the specter of what could have been between them.

"But then I thought", he continued, looking back at her, right into her eyes unflinchingly. "Maybe my fate could change, maybe I could change, and be who you need, but our one attempt at a date went spectacularly wrong"

"I told you, it wasn't that bad", she interrupted. "And hey, we had a blast", she said lamely, repeating the line she'd said a hundred times since that day, to assuage his guilt and hide her pain.

"Here I am, causing you pain, and you're still trying to spare me", he retorted softly. "And that is exactly why I'll never be worthy of you. You're selfless, your first concern is for others, whereas I only see me."

"Oliver, that's not true. You've saved this place from terrible monsters-Slade, Blood, Vertigo, Malcolm, the League. You've saved them, put your life on the line. No selfish person would do that. Whatever your sins, you atone for them, your pains you suffer in silence. You're a hero", she ended brokenly. "You're my hero"

"I don't deserve you", he repeated, bowing his head.  
>"Let me be the judge of that", she replied, reaching forward and capturing his hands in hers.<br>"What about Roy?", he asked lowly, concentrating on the feel of her small, soft hands encircling his larger, callused hands.

"What…about Roy?", she asked confusedly, bamboozled by the sudden topic change.  
>"What would he think of your…change of heart?", he replied lamely, trying not to spell it out.<br>"My change of…", Felicity frowned, trying to understand. "Wait…", she paused, her brain flying thousand miles an hour, correlating the exponentiality of Oliver's grumpy mood with her bonding with Roy. "Oh my god! You think…is that…why?", she replied, feeling appalled.

"Felicity, you're not making any sense", he replied confusedly. She-very calmly-extracted her hands from his, and wordlessly reached inside her bag to extract her wallet. Once she had a solid grip on it, she brought it out and started to poke him with it. "Oliver. Queen. You. Absolute. Idiot.", she said, poking after every word. "All this stupidity, because you can't come up and speak to me. You moron. I don't know whether to laugh at you or to hit you. It took Roy for you to talk to me?"

"Felicity! Oww!", he replied, defending himself as best as he could against her attack. Unable to take it anymore, with her next swing, he trapped her hands and pulled her towards him, blocking her attack. "What are you saying?"

"You think Roy and I are dating?", she accused dangerously, wriggling to free herself.  
>"You aren't?", he replied, half-confused and half-hopeful. "But you're wearing his colour"<br>"His colour?", she spluttered angrily, struggling against his hold. "Now I can't wear red because it's his colour? Newsflash Oliver, it's also Barry's and Ray's color! Huh", she paused to muse. "Not the best examples, given our history. It's also slightly Nyssa's colour, so are you going to be breaking her jaw the next time she comes to town?"

"No", he replied lamely before going on the offensive. "If you're not dating, then why do you always leave together? And Laurel saw you shopping together! And Thea said you wanted her blessings for Roy!"

"Those blessings were for his date with her", she yelled. Loudly. "The same date I've been helping him prepare for, including shopping. The same date that would have taken place two weeks ago if you hadn't broken Roy's jaw"

In his shocked confusion, Oliver let go of her, trying to figure things out in his head. "Wait, so Roy wants to get back with Thea", he replied slowly. "And you've been helping him plan this date, which is why he was over at your flat so much?"

"Well that, and he's also handy with fixing sinks and stuff. He's like the annoying little brother I always wanted to have", she gestured with her hands. "And we made a ritual out of watching late night TV together on the weekends, sometimes Sara comes by too, and-"

"Sara?", he asked incredulously, starting to just connect the dots.

"Yeah, she makes some mean cocktails", Felicity replied flippantly. "Oliver, what's going on? And why do you look so pale?"

"I just got played", he came to the realization finally. "Everyone's been dropping hints here, implying that you might be dating Roy. Out of context, everything they said sounds normal, but together….", he trailed off.

"Who's 'they'?, Felicity asked curiously, coming to her own conclusions.

"Roy, Thea and Sara.", Oliver said, confirming her thoughts. "It's time, I think, we had a talk with them. What do you think?"

"I know exactly where they are", Felicity replied, grabbing her stuffs.

_This was gonna be one hell of an interesting conversation..._

**That'll be all for now. Once again, so sorry for the long delay, and thank you for your continued love and support. Don't forget to review here! Cheers!**


	8. Phase 4

**Arrow belongs to WB/DC and CW, but this little story is all mine. Without further ado, I present to you..  
><strong>**_Phase 4_**

"Are you sure they're here", Oliver whispered, surveying the 'location'. They were seated in her Mini Cooper, and Oliver was staring at the daunting stone façade of the dark house.

"Definitely", came Felicity's reply, from beside him. "Tonight's date night"

"Really?", he asked, glancing at her.

"Planned it, remember?", she asked, finally looking up from where she was tinkering with her tablet. "Which means two-thirds of our suspects are here, which I just verified from pinging their locations of their cells, and something tells me Sara will be here too"

"How do you figure?", he asked.  
>"Just a guess", she shrugged, putting her tablet in her bag, and zipping it up. She wasn't willing to share her ideas about their friends' intervention with Oliver; she'd rather they reveal what-Felicity-was-sure-was-the-point-of-the-charade, than have another awkward moment with the man seated beside him. She'd rather <em>he<em> feed _them_ the same heartbreaking lines he'd told her time and again, rather than share her ideas with him, and have him either run away or get pissy…_again_.  
>"So, are we doing this?", she asked him, clearing her thoughts, using the same voice she used while planning logistics of a mission.<p>

"Let's go", he replied decidedly, getting out of Felicity's mini and walking towards his own house-the Queen mansion.

They strode up the stone steps in unison, Oliver's hand resting comfortingly at the small of her back, but before he could lift his free hand to grab the doorknob, the door was opened from the inside by…

"Raisa?", Oliver asked, surprised to see the older woman at the mansion.

"Master Oliver", Raisa greeted him, with a beaming smile. "Miss Felicity, welcome!"

"Raisa? What are you doing here?", he asked confusedly. Last he knew, she had resigned her post at the house to take care of her ailing sister, who lived in Bludhaven.

"Miss Thea asked me to come over for tonight and make some food. Kosher food, no nuts", she added, nodding to Felicity. "Also, she requested your presence in the parlor. Coats?"

"No, thanks", Felicity took over the talking, eyeing Oliver's still dumbfounded expression at seeing his Russian nanny here. "I suppose we shouldn't keep Thea waiting"

Oliver nodded and perfunctorily led the way through the dimly lit hallways to the designated room, and on his way passed the foyer where he had declared his love for her that one time. His step faltered there, but Felicity's nudge to his shoulder had him moving again.

As far as the duo was concerned, they were on a mission here. To wrangle some answers from their friends, whose low murmuring voices Oliver could hear from outside the parlor.

He stopped before going in the room though, pulled short by Felicity's tug on his shirt.

"Let me do the talking, okay?", Felicity conferred with him in a whisper. "Just stop me if I start to ramble"

"Deal", he replied just as quietly before nodding his head. _Ready_, he mouthed, and when she nodded, he took a deep breath, wiped off all expressions from his face, and pushed the door open.

"And they finally arrive", came Sara's sarcastic reply even before they had cleared the threshold. "I was beginning to worry you'd not figure it out, and we'd have to spend the entire night here, getting plastered off the liquor from your cellars"

"We're going to do that anyway. Just not here. Probably.", Thea smirked at the older woman, rolling her eyes. "But where are my manners? Come, come. Sit down, you two. I know Felicity here can't deal with alcohol on an empty stomach, but brother dearest would you like something to drink?"

"Not really", he replied, perplexed by Thea's languid manner. She was slouching in an armchair, and Roy was perched on the arm of the seat, looking at ease but also avoiding Felicity's eyes. Sara was casually sitting on the sill of one of the bay windows, smiling at them like the cat who ate the…well, canary. By their mannerism, you would never have guessed that they were being subjected to intimidating glares by both him and Felicity.

"I would like some answers though", he continued, dropping into the sofa opposite Thea, slinging his arm over its top when Felicity sat down beside him.

"Of course", Thea nodded, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, but otherwise she remained silent, staring him down.

"Well?", Felicity asked finally, not willing to play the wait-it-out game. "Start talking."

"What do you want me to say?", Thea returned, enjoying flustering the IT expert.  
>"The truth", Oliver replied succinctly, continuing to stare steadfastedly at his sister, who he was pretty sure masterminded the entire thing.<p>

"There are many truths I know, you're gonna have to be more specific", Thea teased, crossing her legs at the knee.

Before Oliver could do more than growl, Felicity started talking. "What he means is that _we_ want to know the reason the elaborate ploy _you_ had going on", Felicity said, gesturing to them collectively.

"I'll tell you, but before that humor me this", Thea said, eyeing Felicity closely. "Amongst us, you have the best deductive skills, so what conclusions have _you_ reached, Felicity?"

"Nothing I'd like to share at this moment", Felicity fidgeted, averting her eyes.

"Why not?", Sara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Enough of this cat and mouse", Oliver spit out. "Start talking. Now"

"Fine", Thea huffed, seating up straighter and fixing a fierce glare towards her brother. "The reason behind all our scheming- mostly _my_ scheming, I should mention- was to make you realize the truth"

"What truth?", Oliver asked, impatiently.

"That you're in love with Felicity", Thea answered.  
>"I know that already", he shot back, getting frustrated. "She knows it, too. And, apparently all of you. So, why the whole chess game?" He did not want to talk about it. It only brought him pain, and broke her heart. <em>Every. Time.<em>

"That was to make you realize that she is worth fighting for.", Sara sighed.  
>"That you can't be the best version of yourself without her light.", Roy added, looking at Felicity, who seemed to have gone rigid beside Oliver.<br>"Our intention was never to cause you pain, either one of you,", Thea continued, looking at both of them sadly. "But all the pushing-and pulling between you guys was hurting both of you, and for what?"

"That was our choice, our decision. You had no right to interfere here", Oliver returned heatedly, burying the pain that their words were causing him.  
>"Your choice, Oliver. You made the choice", Felicity interjected for the first time, looking at her lap. Oliver looked at her, stunned at the pain in her voice.<br>"But he's right", Felicity said, after a pause, looking up. "You shouldn't have deceived us"

"Do you see what she's doing, Ollie?", Thea smiled wryly. "Even at her expense, she's protecting you, while you've been nothing but selfish towards her. This is why we did what we did, to make you see her. Do you understand?"

Oliver nodded jerkily, taking in their words. He'd decided not too long ago, to fight for _her_, for _them_, hell for just the _chance of them_, but this was the first time he was clearly seeing how much damage he had done to her and their relationship, by refusing to give in to her. _Never again._

Reaching over, he placed a hand over Felicity's hands, both of which were balled into fists in her lap, and he decided to verbalize his thoughts.

"I do understand. And I promise to try.", he said, looking into Felicity's eyes. "I'm willing to try, if you are"

"One chance, Oliver. I won't let you break my heart again.", Felicity declared firmly. She might be in love with him, but she wouldn't wait a lifetime for him.  
>"One chance. I won't fail you, Felicity", he nodded, breaking into a smile, the like of which the team hadn't seen for a long time. "I love you", he replied softly, as if imparting a secret, as he leaned towards her, and pressed his lips to her temple.<br>"I know", Felicity replied contently, making him snort.

"Okay, now that they're getting all lovey-dovey, could we please leave?", Roy whined, slightly uncomfortable at the PDA between his mentor and his-almost-sister.  
>"You", Felicity growled upon hearing his voice. "How could <em>you<em> put me through this? I trusted you, and loved you like a brother, and this is how you repay me?"

"Felicity, I'm sorry", Roy replied, both repentant for hurting her, and scared of the numerous ways she could digitally destroy his life. "I really didn't want to deceive you like this"

"Sorry's not gonna cut it, mister", she shook her head, glaring at him outright. "I'm going to-"  
>"Leave him be", Thea interjected firmly, placing a comforting hand on Roy's thigh. "He agreed to do it because I told him it was the only way I'd take him back"<p>

"And has it worked?", Felicity shot back, raising her eyebrows expectantly.  
>"Mmhmm", Thea replied, while Roy shot her a thumbs up. <em>Well, at least some good came out of it...<em>

Felicity humphed, but settled back into her chair, and immediately Oliver pulled her closer to his body, no longer scared of translating his love via touches.

"Okay, I get Thea. And Roy. Good for you guys! But what was your stake here, Sara?", she asked, relaxing into Oliver's embrace.

"Nothing much. Can't a girl want to see her best friends be happy?". She shrugged innocently. _Too innocently._

"Of course, but what else?", Oliver asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. Sara stared back defiantly, but his stare eventually broke her.

"Remember how Felicity had to reboot the lair's computers last month? I _might_ have infested them accidentally, and hopefully this would make up for it?", she said quickly, averting her eyes.  
>"My babies", Felicity gasped, horrified.<br>"But everything's better now, so go team!" Sara replied lamely, doing a fist pump. Looking at the not so amused faces of both Felicity and Oliver (and the 'you-dug-your-own-grave' looks of Thea and Roy), she shook her head. "No? Fine, well let's get back to our itinerary for tonight"

"Itinerary?", Oliver asked quizzically, before Felicity could threaten Sara.

"Right, that", Thea nodded excitedly. "I'm sure you already met Raisa, so you know there's food. So, get eating!"

"You're not joining us?", Oliver asked, picking up on her wording.  
>"No offence Ollie, but our presence would kind of dampen the candle-lit dinner for two atmosphere", Sara replied sarcastically.<p>

"Yeah, and there's no way I'm sticking around for the 'desserts' part", Roy shuddered, making Felicity blush. "So, we're leaving"  
>"Matter of fact, we're taking Raisa away too, so you're gonna have to fend for your own selves for the morning", Thea added, standing up.<p>

"How do you plan on driving Raisa?", Oliver asked concernedly. "I'm pretty sure all of you came on bikes, and there's no way you're taking Raisa on one", he declared, shuddering at the mental image of his beloved nanny sitting behind Sara on her Ducati, hanging on-terrified for her dear life.

"That's where I come in", a voice called from the doorway, and looking around, Oliver and Felicity met the smirking face of their closest friend.

"John?", Felicity said disbelievingly. "You knew about this?"  
>"Of course", he shrugged, exchanging a wink with Thea. "Nothing goes down in the foundry without me knowing about it, you know that"<br>Stupid juju powers, Felicity muttered, shaking her head. "Unbelievable", Oliver said out loud. "You knew this, and yet you went along with it. Why?"

"Because your sister is a diabolical genius, and this was the best way to get you fools together", he replied nonchalantly. "Both of you pining for each other was giving me an ulcer, and all of us know by now that me talking to you- _multiple times_- didn't help one bit, so it was time for more drastic measures"

"Unbelievable", Oliver replied again, shaking his head. "So let me get this straight? Thea came up with this elaborate plan to get me and Felicity together, and Roy went along with it because he wanted her. Sara joined in at some point, and you, Diggle, knew about it. What else do we not know?"

"That Lyla and Nyssa know too", Sara piped up. "Oh, and Barry. He had quite a laugh over it"  
>"And we created a manifesto of things you're not allowed to do in front of us", Roy added, extracting a folded piece of paper from his hoodie and passing it to Felicity, who immediately blushed upon opening the list, and crumpled it before Oliver could get a look at the <em>finer details<em> of what their team had deemed _inappropriate conduct_ while any of them were around. "Okay, got it", she choked out, hell-bent against duscussing the list. "Are we done here?"

"We are", Thea conceded. "But you and Ollie aren't. Think of this as a do-over of your first date. Except in the mansion, wearing casual clothes, and eating Raisa's cooking"

"Sounds perfect", Oliver smiled gratefully at his sister, who had the insight to plan this do-over date in an environment he felt safe and which wouldn't evoke any memories of their one disastrous date.

"Wait, if we're having dinner here, what about you and Roy? What about the date we planned?", Felicity pouted, unwilling to see the whole date she had planned go to waste.  
>"We've been together for over two weeks now", Roy grinned happily, looking like a smitten kitten towards Thea. "Why do you think we've been patrolling the same area together?"<br>"Also, the date you planned?", Thea replied with a twinkle in her eyes. "We did it last Friday, when Roy didn't go over to your house for your regular movie marathon. He burned the food, my dress got ruined trying to salvage it, and we got drunk. Like really drunk. Something I'm looking forward to doing again tonight"

"Unbelievable", Felicity parroted Oliver, shaking her head.

"So, we're gonna leave now", Sara said slowly, standing up and stretching. "You two behave….or don't", she ended with a sly laugh, winking lasciviously.

With that all four of them filed out of the room, pausing to bid goodbye to the duo, and at last Oliver and Felicity were left alone.  
>"Can you believe this?", Felicity asked him incredulously, turning to look at his face properly.<br>"It's Thea, so yeah", Oliver shrugged, thinking of how calculative his sister could be.

"If only she could have applied her brainpower to economics, she would never have gotten that C grade in eleventh grade", Felicity murmured, shaking her head. "What?", she asked, when Oliver shot her a disbelieving look. "If it's on the net-"  
>"You can find it", he completed with a smile. "I know"<br>"So..", she trailed off, in the ensuing silence.

"So", he replied, breaking into a smile. "Ms Smoak, would you care to join me for dinner?", he asked, standing up and extending a hand towards her.  
>"It would be my pleasure, Mr Queen", she replied, taking his hand and standing up. "But first, a little insurance", she uttered, before standing up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his.<br>"Insurance?", he asked, against her lips.  
>"You know, just in case, a rocket interrupts us halfway through dinner, and you change your mind"<p>

"Not happening", Oliver said assuredly, bumping her nose with his affectionately. "I'm not letting you go again"  
>"Promise me?", she asked, looking into his eyes. In reply, Oliver cradled her head lovingly, and pressed his lips against hers for a small infinity.<p>

**So that's all for now. I just have one more chapter to go, which should be up hopefully soon. But anyways, thank you for all your love for this fic, and don't forget to leave a review if you have any comments/suggestions/critique. Cheers!  
>PS- apologies in advance for any grammatical mistakes, or if the tone seems a bit off, this-I'll confess-was a rushed job. Sorry : (<br>**


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